Radiation curable coatings differ in their adherence to the various plastic, metallic and paper substrates used in commerce. This difference in adherence can be applied to transferring a coating from one substrate having a relatively weak adhesive bond to a second substrate having a stronger bond.
One set of applications based on that concept is substitution of low cost substrates readily available in commerce for the expensive release substrates currently used for this purpose. Furthermore, the surface texture of the carrying web may be desirably imparted to the cured coating. In this way any of a number of aesthetically pleasing and decorative effects can be produced. In addition, when using a nonporous substrate as the carrying web for transfer of the coating composition to a porous substrate, the quantity of coating required is greatly reduced due to the minimization of wicking of the uncured coating into the porous substrate. The result is a coating which resides largely on the surface of the porous substrate, thus more easily bridging the irregularities of that surface with a minimum of coating material. A particularly good example of this process is the transfer of a coating composition from a polyester web to paper to provide a smooth glossy surface for subsequent vacuum metallization. The metallized surface obtained in this manner is exceptionally shiny and free from flaws and blemishes.
In alternative applications, the substrate can be used as interleaves between plastic sheets, temporary backings for pressure-sensitive adhesives, and papers used as temporary carriers in film and foam casting processes. The release papers may be smooth or embossed, to impart any desired texture to the film or the foam cast against them. They may also be preprinted with an ink that is transferred to the cast film.